At Kontera, we can relate to the frustration of forgotten passwords, constant resetting, and the struggle to track and remember the countless login details for all of our frequently visited web destinations.

Protection is tight and web technology today allows for an ultra-secure browsing environment; still, many people are guilty of: failing to change their passwords regularly or recycling the same password through all of their accounts.

When establishing passwords, experts recommend considering the following tips:

• Use numbers, letters, and symbols

• Don’t use shared passwords

• Mind case-sensitivity requirements

• Avoid obvious sequences/patterns (1234,abc)

• Never keep your default password

• Change passwords every 4-6 weeks

The Kontera team reminds you that you can easily change your login password in the Publisher Center by clicking the “My Account” tab.  If you are an advertiser, your Advertiser Center password can be changed upon request- just contact your account manager.

We consider this as not only a great way to enhance your personal security, but also a great exercise to improve memory.  Of course, our Support Team is always happy to help should your password escape you, simply click “forgot password”, or let us know and we’ll gladly muster up a replacement right away.

Making heads or tails of accounting terms and banking information is not an easy task.

Since Kontera Publishers often pose questions to our Accounting Department about the various payment terms that need to be filled out in the Publisher Center, we’ve turned to our accounting experts to get a better understanding of the who, what, why, when, and how of these wordy banking terms.

In case you were wondering what “Bank RTN” is, or what’s the difference between “WIRE” and “International EFT” for your payment method of choice, we’re glad to let you know that we’ve updated our Publisher Knowledgebase with a full entry that will help you navigate through your account’s payment information page.

So be sure to drop by our KnowledgeBase for a detailed answer to the question:

What do the Various Accounting Terms in the Publisher Center Stand For?

While you’re there, please browse around and let us know if there are any additional subjects you’d like us to cover in the Publisher Knowledgebase.

Exciting news on the front of Kontera publisher payment!

We already offer multiple payment methods to suit your preference.  Now, we’re glad to announce that if you’re using Domestic ACH as your payment method, pay-day will come even sooner. You can receive payment at $75 and cash-in on your Kontera earnings quicker and more often!

The change recently went into effect and can be utilized by publishers who qualify for Domestic ACH payment.

If you are a current Kontera publisher who meets these criteria, we invite you to benefit from this new $75 payout:

1. Login to your Kontera Publisher Center account.
2. Select the “My Account” tab and then follow the “Payment Method” Link.
3. Select the “Domestic ACH” option from the payment method dropdown menu and hit the “Update” button.
4. Please submit all updates to your account’s tax and payout info by the 15th of the month for changes to take effect on  the upcoming payout cycle. Any updates submitted after that date will only be applicable during the next payout cycle.

This change is just one of many to come as we continue to bring you the best  In-Text advertising experience.

Language advances at the rate of technology, and that means f-a-s-t.  Anyone making a living online knows how crucial it is to keep up with the new terms and phrases that amass in the industry.

A few months ago we published a post containing glossary terms and metrics relevant to the online advertising industry in general and more specifically to Kontera.  We’ve received some warm responses for this post and so we’ve decided to expand, introducing additional terms to the list:

Campaign Related

Cost Per Click- The amount paid by an advertiser per each click on their ad.

Campaign Targeting- Gearing an advertising campaign to a particular demographic.

ROI – an acronym for Return on Investment.  In other words, the percentage of profit that an advertiser accrues from a marketing or advertising campaign

Technology Related

Semantic Analysis- Semantic analysis involves text mining, term/phrase extraction, page vector analysis, associations and and other parameters. Semantic analysis is used to determine the context of the page and respond with relevant advertising or related content.

Contextual Relevance- in the field of In-Text contextual advertising, this term refers to the strength of the connection between an underlined keyword and the advertisement paired with it.

Computational Linguistics- a field dealing with the statistical and/or rule-based modeling of natural language from a computational perspective.  Kontera’s contextual analysis technology is based on the principles of computational linguistics.

Industry Related

Interactive Advertising- the type of advertising that allows active participation from the user.  See Kontera’s interactive advertising.

Rich Media Ads- a term for advanced technology used in internet ads, such as streaming video, applets that allow user interaction, and special effects.

IAB- The Interactive Advertising Bureau. The IAB is comprised of more than 375 leading media and technology companies. On behalf of its members, the IAB is dedicated to the growth of the interactive advertising marketplace, of interactive’s share of total marketing spend, and of its members’ share of total marketing spend. Working with its member companies, the IAB evaluates and recommends standards and practices and fields critical research on interactive advertising.

References:

We put this list together using the following great resources:

Wikipedia

Yahoo Publisher Network Blog

IAB website

Implementing Flash units is common practice in contemporary web design. Flash presents objects in a continuous movie format, and often includes sound as well as a high interactivity level, providing your users with a rich and more engaging experience.

We mention this since we’ve been getting an increase of questions from publishers regarding Flash and ContentLink ads. Will ContentLink ads be affected by flash units featured on a webpage?

ContentLink Ads are usually unaffected by Flash units. Still, as there are multiple parameters incorporated in each flash code, if you feel that they’re causing any irregularity in your ads’ appearance you can follow these steps:

Use transparent mode when loading the Flash unit to your HTML code. Transparent mode allows the background color or image of the HTML page that contains the Flash unit to show through.

This can be achieved by making the following adjustments to your Flash unit’s code:

1. For the <OBJECT> tag, add the following parameter: <param name=”wmode” value=”transparent”>
2. For the <EMBED> tag, add the following parameter: wmode=”transparent”

The web provides ample resources for anyone interested in learning more about creating and using Flash, but be sure to stop by Flashkit.com, a great site that Kontera’s  very own Flash developers recommend.

Kontera recently partnered with Pluck On Demand enabling its publishers access to contextually relevant, professionally-created, content and social media tools to increase publisher page views and user engagement. Kontera ContentLink will automatically populate within the Pluck on Demand content widget generating additional revenue for publishers.

What exactly is Pluck On Demand?

Pluck On Demand is a series of widgets that grow your site with contextually relevant content and social media tools.  The widgets read your site and offer links to relevant content from a library of millions of articles and videos. All content is consumed within your pages with your site’s look and feel and is pre-packaged with advertising.  This means incremental page views and revenue for your site.

How does it work?

Pluck On Demand’s free self-serve widget-based product can be added in minutes using an easy step-by-step implementation wizard.  Once in place, Pluck On Demand automatically reads content on a page and provides links to related articles and videos sourced from various high-quality content providers. The full article or video content is viewed within the publisher’s site, driving traffic and engagement.  Pluck On Demand also comes with social media features such as comments, ratings, recommendations, and user profiles, making it possible for publishers to instantly build vibrant community on their sites.
Check out the video to learn more http://ondemand.pluck.com/kontera

How do I sign-up?

Visit ondemand.pluck.com/kontera and add Pluck on Demand to your site today!

We’ve decided to aggregate some of the questions we receive regarding payment terms & methods. The extended versions of the answers below can be found in the Kontera knowledgeBase.
If you’re left with any payment questions after reading this post and the knowledgeBase, let us know, and we’ll gladly expand our guides to include more information.

When do I get paid?

Kontera’s payment terms are Net 30, first week of the month, when balance meets or exceeds US$100.  In plain English it means that payment is issued 30 days after the month in which the revenue was earned, when an account balance reaches $100. For example, if your account balance reaches $100 in October, we’ll send the payment to you in the first week of December.

What if my account balance is less than $100?

If your account balance is less than US$100 at the end of the month, earnings over US$5 (for all your sites combined) is rolled forward to the following month, until the payment threshold is reached.
You can view your account status at any moment by logging into your Publisher Center account and clicking on the reports tab.  Reports date back up to 180 days and any data prior to this time frame can be sent to you upon request.

Can I set a higher limit of when payments are released to me?

Sure.  Some of our partners prefer a payout amount which is higher than $100.  If this is the case for you, simply change the settings by logging into the Publisher Center and selecting the “My Account” Tab. Follow the ‘Payment Method’ link and enter the amount of your choice in the appropriate field.

What are the available payment methods?

Kontera’s available payment methods are as follows:

US Publishers
•    Check
•    EFT
•    Paypal

Publishers from Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland,  and the United Kingdom
•    Check
•    International ACH
•    Paypal

All Other International Publishers
•    Check
•    Wire
•    Paypal

And how do I change my payment method?

To change your payment method, login to your account and go to “My Account” tab, then click “Payment Method” to select your preferred option.  Click to find out more about changing your payment method to PayPal.

In a previous post we’ve defined Link Density as “the concentration of ContentLink ads within a publisher’s content; the higher a site’s link density, the more ContentLinks are presented per page.”

Now we’d like to answer the question: What determines a site’s link density?

Generally, it has to do with the amount of text a site has.  ContentLinks, being in-text ads, are a perfect fit for text rich sites.  So the more textual content you have on your site, the more ContentLinks will appear.  Another factor has to do with the topic of a site.  Let’s face it, not all site topics were created equal.  Popularity of topics is interchangeable and may also vary throughout the year, as does the advertisers’ demand of a particular keyword.

To define link density through a more mathematical approach we’ll say the following:  a link density of 10 would mean a maximum of 10 keywords out of 100 words will be highlighted on a page.

Link density can be changed by Kontera’s optimization team.  To change the link density on your site, login to kontera’s Publisher Center and click on the help tab to contact support with your request.

Building a site or a blog is no simple task but maintaining it is no child’s play either… Like in any other professional undertaking, this occupation requires you to learn a whole new language, a set of new definitions.  Unlike any other professional undertaking, the online world is the fastest growing fastest changing industry existing today.  And so to be in touch with it, one has to keep up with the lexicon.  If you’re a website owner/online marketer, you definitely know what I mean.

Taking this into account, we thought it would benefit our partners if we presented a short glossary of basic terms revolving around Kontera and online advertising in general.  We hope to make some aspects of Kontera more accessible through these definitions.

Kontera Online Advertising:

• Pay Per Click Advertising- an advertising model in which Kontera pays publishers according to a pre-determined amount each time a user clicks on an ad; the amount is determined by the advertiser and is known as CPC.

• Contextual Advertising- an advertising model in which advertisements on a site are targeted to users based on the site’s content.  Kontera’s contextual advertising is highly specific as it recognizes the meaning of a particular sentence and matches it to the highest paying ad of the same topic.

• In-Text Advertising- a form of contextual advertising in which ads are served within the content of a site through highlighted keywords.  Kontera’s algorithms analyze content and extract keywords in order to match them to ads.  The ads appear as the user hovers over a highlighted keyword with his mouse.

Revenue Model:

• Revenue Share- the percentage of a click’s revenue which is received by the publisher.

Kontera Metrics:

• Impressions- the number of times a website is loaded by internet users; this is calculated by totaling all loads of all pages within the specified site.

• Net Impressions- the number of times a website is loaded by internet users, calculating only those pages on which at least one ContentLink was present.

• CTR- (Click-Through Rate) the average rate at which a site’s users click on an ad; this is calculated by dividing the number of clicks by net impressions to yield a percentage.

• CPC- (Cost Per Click) the dollar amount that an advertiser offers for a click on a particular ad. CPC isn’t a fixed rate and varies from one advertising campaign to the next according to advertiser’s specifications.

• eCPM- (Effective Cost Per Thousand)- the revenue for each 1,000 net impressions that a publisher’s site generates; a key tool in estimating revenue projections based on impressions.

Kontera Optimization Terms:

• Optimization- the process in which a Kontera team analyzes a site to identify its ideal ContentLink settings for reaching optimal performance and revenue potential. Click to learn some optimization tips.

• Link Density- the concentration of ContentLink ads within a publisher’s content; the higher a site’s link density, the more ContentLinks are presented per page. (e.g., a link density of 10 would mean a maximum of 10 keywords out of 100 words will be highlighted on a page).  Link density is a scale that Kontera’s optimization team can easily control.  Contact support@kontera.com for more details.

• Zone Tags- publisher-initiated Javascript code that specifies which areas of a site Kontera’s algorithm should analyze to generate ContentLinks; not to be used with Filter Tags.

• Filter Tags- publisher-initiated Javascript code that specifies in which areas of a site Kontera’s algorithm should not generate ContentLinks; not to be used with Zone Tags.

• Metrics Fluctuations – Many factors may influence one or more of your metrics and be reflected in your site’s overall performance. Fluctuations may result from changes in your site’s settings, ContentLink attributes, your site’s traffic sources and visitor trends, available relevant campaigns and advertisers’ specifications and more. It’s therefore very important to remember that when you analyze performance you should keep track of all the values above as well as take a look at your site’s stats as reflected in Google Analytics or any other tracking application you may be using.

We hope this helped in gaining a better understanding of Kontera’s advertising and how to analyze your site’s metrics. Stay tuned for an upcoming post on better understanding Kontera through the use of Google analytics.

Do gigantic spreadsheets of stats creep you out? They do me. Kontera analysts on the other hand, love them.

Stats are useful for many reasons; my own favorite use is for the purpose of getting insightful information about Kontera partners. Today, we’ve asked our analysts to gather the information that would answer an essential question: what do Kontera’s top earners have in common?

Here’s what we came up with:

1. Over 55% U.S. Traffic – Online advertisers tend to allocate the majority of their resources to the U.S. market granting it the highest ad spending per internet user. This inclination explains why publishers who experience an increase in their U.S. traffic, will also benefit from increased revenues.
   
2. High percentage of Search Engine Traffic – Search engine traffic is characterized by being more targeted.   If much of the traffic that comes to your site arrives through search engines, chances are that you get focused, targeted users to come through the door.  These users visit a website with an intention to find specific information and are therefore more likely to click on the ContentLink ads you serve.
3. Returning Visitors – Another thing Kontera’s top earners have in common is a high percentage of returning visitors.  You may say, “big news flash! Returning visitors are valuable for my site, duh! didn’t know that…”  Well, there is a news flash regarding ContentLink ads and the visitors on your site.  Returning visitors are already familiar with the Kontera layout, the ads and the information served on your site.  Having experienced the advantages ContentLinks provide, these visitors tend to generate CTR which is higher than that of new visitors.
4. Cross-browser website compatibility –  There’s a variety of browser options available today and the market is always on the move.  With Google ‘s release of Chrome beta, there’s no telling where or how fast things are going… Why limit yourself to one browser?  Your site’s visitors use many.  If you want to maximize your site’s earning potential make sure your site is well supported in all browser and browser versions.

   

5. Content Rich Sites –The more textual content on your pages the better. Kontera top earners all have implemented the Kontera tag on pages that have ample textual content for our algorithm to analyze. However you should note that it’s not only the length of your content that comes into play, but also its quality (Are your pages keyword rich?Is your content fresh and original? Is it SE optimized?).

This is what we found so far through our stats.  Any questions? Suggestions? We’d love to see your comments.